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With a rise in the popularity of veganism, many people are looking at their diets and reassessing what it is that they actually eat and where it comes from. For lots of people, the idea of going completely vegan is daunting, so many often find a comfortable middle ground with changing to a vegetarian diet.

There are many health benefits of a vegetarian diet. It doesn’t matter whether you go vegetarian full time or have some days eating a plant based diet and others eating meat – your body will thank you all the same. A vegetarian diet isn’t for everyone and it isn’t always easy. It can mean you have to try new foods and it can take a little bit more work to make sure that your body is getting everything it needs, but it is very easy to pick up, if you are so inclined. There are hundreds of recipes, meal plans and ideas online to help get you started too.

What Are The Benefits Of A Vegetarian Diet?

People become vegetarian for different reasons – they may be against animal cruelty, wanting to help the environment or just trying to challenge themselves and change their diet. There seems to be a myth that choosing a vegetarian diet will help you lose weight, and while for some people this may be the case, this isn’t always true – there are other health benefits of vegetarianism though that your body will really thank you for. These include:

Lower Cholesterol

Traditionally it was thought that vegetarians had a far healthier diet to meat eaters, simply because they had to prepare more of their food from scratch. There used to be a lack of vegetarian ready meals, however,vegetarian-friendlyy convenience food has become increasingly popular and is now far more readily available. Vegetarian ready meals tend to have less saturated fat and tend to be less fried and fatty, so for this reason you’re more likely to benefit from a diet that will lower your cholesterol.

Healthier Gut

Some vegetarians will use meat substitutes, while others will choose to bulk out their meals with vegetables and pulses. This means that a vegetarian diet tends to be much higher in fibre than a meat eating diet, as both meat substitutes and vegetables are high in fibre. This makes for a far healthier gut and helps keep everything moving. Great for your bowels and great for you.

Good For Your Skin

Vegetables high in carotenoid are great for making your skin glow. These are found in green, red and orange vegetables. Vegetarians tend to eat more carotenoid rich foods such as carrots and broccoli as these are used to bulk out meals. Carotenoids are great for your skin, helping it to stay supple and radiant, showing your internal health on the outside.

There are many benefits of vegetarianism. It can be a fantastic lifestyle choice with lots of benefits for your health and the planet, but if you aren’t careful it can leave you feeling run down and sluggish if you fail to take in all the nutrients you need.

For more information on making the transition to a vegetarian diet a healthy one, check out NHS Choices for some fun and exciting recipe ideas – it might even help you discover some favourite new foods too.